David Hansen was born in Sydney, Australia. He studied singing with Andrew Dalton at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music and furthered his studies with James Bowman, David Harper and Graham Pushee.
Highlights of David’s 2016/17 season included a return to Den Norske Opera in the title role of Gluck’s Orfeo ed Euridice under Rinaldo Alessandrini, Handel’s Parnasso in Festa under Marcon, Handel’s Theodora for the Händel-Festspiele Karlsruhe, Telemaco in Monteverdi’s Il ritorno d’Ulisse in patria under De Marchi for the Innsbruck Festival of Early Music and concerts with Brodsky Quartet.
David made his European début in 2004 for the Aix-en-Provence Festival in Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas. Shortly thereafter, he made his UK début in concerts with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra under the baton of Emmanuelle Haïm, as well as performing the title-role in Handel’s Fernando with Il Complesso Barocco under Alan Curtis.
Other operatic engagements include the title-role in Handel’s Serse under Jean-Christophe Spinosi, Ligeti’s Le Grand Macabre (Fiore/Den Norske Opera), Monteverdi’s Il ritorno d’Ulisse in patria (De Marchi/Den Norske Opera), Bertarido in Handel’s Rodelinda (Curtis/Bilbao), Trinculo in the American premiere of Thomas Adès’ The Tempest (Alan Gilbert/Santa Fe Opera), Handel’s Giulio Cesare (De Marchi/Sächsische Staatsoper Dresden; René Jacobs/Theater an der Wien; Alessandrini/Den Norske Opera; Spering/Teatro de la Maestranza, Sevilla), Monteverdi’s L’Orfeo (Jacobs/Deutsche Staatsoper-Berlin), Mozart’s Mitridate(Christophe Rousset/Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie), Handel’s Semele (Rousset/Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie), Nerone in Monteverdi’s L’incorinazione di Poppea (Boston Early Music Festival; Teatro Calderón), the title-role in Bontempi’s Il Paride (Christina Pluhar/Innsbruck Festival of Early Music) and Cherubino in Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro (Teatro Verdi, Sassari). He has worked with directors including Stefan Herheim, Katie Mitchell, Jonathan Kent, Barrie Kosky and Christof Loy.
Concert highlights include Carmina Burana with the Berliner Philharmoniker under Sir Simon Rattle, Handel’s Saul at the Wiener Musikverein under Nikolaus Harnoncourt, the title-role in Handel’s Solomon with René Jacobs and the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, Bach’s Johannes-Passion with Les Musiciens du Louvre Grenoble under Marc Minkowski and Handel’s Messiah under Fabio Biondi.
David’s debut solo recording for Sony/dhm, Rivals – Arias for Farinelli & Co., with Academia Montis Regalis and Alessandro De Marchi was released in August 2013 to critical acclaim. His other recordings include Purcell: Music For Queen Mary, with the Academy of Ancient Music and the choir of King’s College Cambridge, available on EMI Classics, Cavalli’s Giasone and Vivaldi’s Griselda, both recorded for Pinchgut Opera Live, Bach’s Johannes-Passion with Les Musiciens du Louvre Grenoble under Minkowski for Erato/Warner Classics and Handel’s Parnasso in festa under Marcon for Pentatone.